Monsoon hits Bay of Bengal 5 days early

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's monsoon has set in over parts of the Bay of Bengal five days ahead of schedule, the weather office said, but officials said this did not mean the mainland would get rains, key for farming, early.

The monsoon usually advances to the southeast Bay of Bengal and the south Andaman sea by May 15 but this year rains had come early, the India Meteorological Department said in a statement dated May 10.

"Simply because it has hit the Bay of Bengal early, it does not necessarily mean it will hit the mainland early," a senior official at the weather office involved in monsoon forecasting, who did not wish to be named, told Reuters.

The four-month monsoon normally hits the mainland on June 1 from the south-western state of Kerala.

The weather office said some early features had been observed, including strengthening and deepening of westerly winds over the eastern region and rainfall activity over the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

"Conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon over some more parts of southeast Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea," it said. See (http://www.imd.ernet.in).

This year the rains will be watched closely as fast-rising food prices, largely due to global factors, have contributed to price pressures, with India battling its highest inflation in 3-1/2 years.

The government, which is expected to update its forecast in June, has said rainfall would be 99 percent of the long-term average.